AT&T Fiber Hidden Costs: How Much Do You Really Pay?

So how do you know if AT&T fiber is charging hidden costs? Simple—go over your bill.

My colleague Lauren Hannula has AT&T Fiber at her San Diego residence. She's rarely had hidden costs arise; billing for her has been "all good." But she still agreed to share her bill as a visual aid in looking for extra charges.

Lauren's AT&T Fiber bill consists of two simple pages. The first page summarizes the bill: How much and when she paid last month, how much and when to pay next month, and her payment method (autopay).

The second page shows the breakdown of Lauren’s monthly charges. Take a look:

The Monthly charges section lists the monthly cost of Lauren’s internet plan. It also shares in italics what the monthly fee covers (her plan plus AT&T ActiveArmor security software) and the discounts she gets (the autopay and paperless billing discounts). If Lauren were paying for internet equipment, that charge would also appear in this section.

Under Government fees & taxes, you can see the list of local taxes and fees that Lauren pays on her fiber as a California resident.

There’s also a handy-dandy Usage summary to show how much internet data Lauren and her family used last month. And under everything else, AT&T provides tips and tricks for saving money and paying monthly bills.

Lauren’s a longtime AT&T Fiber customer who signed up for the 300Mbps plan for $55 a month. Four years in, AT&T raised her plan price by $5 per month.

"But I didn't do anything about it because it was only $5," Lauren recalls. "And I double-checked the base rate of the plan to make sure it wasn't a billing error ... and yep, they just increased the plan price."

Otherwise, she hasn’t had any trouble with unexpected AT&T charges. Her only extra charge is $0.27 each month to cover California taxes.

If Lauren rented Wi-Fi extenders from AT&T, she would see a $10 fee per extender under Monthly charges. If she paid her last bill late, she would see a charge of $9.99 under Account charges, according to AT&T.

The most common hidden costs for AT&T Fiber customers are one-time installation fees and equipment charges for Wi-Fi extenders. Not everyone needs these extenders, but if your house is big, you might require one or more to get reception in every room.

The $5 price increase Lauren saw on her bill is unusual—AT&T doesn't have automatic price hikes and still offers 300Mbps at $55 a month to new customers (with autopay and paperless billing). Odds are you won't see a sudden increase without warning, but if you do, you can ask AT&T to ensure it's legitimate.

Here’s a full breakdown of fees you might see on your AT&T Fiber bill.

Rest assured that there are some hidden fees you won’t see with AT&T Fiber. For instance, AT&T Fiber has no contracts, so you won’t see any contract renewal or cancellation fees. And AT&T Fiber also comes with unlimited data, which means no surprise data overage charges.

The first AT&T Fiber bill includes extra charges for installation. That's $150 if you go with professional installation, a fee you can avoid by installing the equipment yourself.

However, you actually have to install the equipment on your own. If you call AT&T for help, then wham! You’re suddenly on the hook for 99 bucks as a “self-installation assistance fee.”

Either way, after you pay for installation costs, you shouldn’t see them on your bill again. If you do, that’s an error on AT&T’s side, and you can and should ask them to fix it for you.

With a little effort, you can avoid some hidden AT&T Fiber costs (and lower your AT&T bill in the process). I suggest the following:

• Install your equipment on your own
• Pay your monthly bills on time
• Return any equipment on time

You can’t avoid some AT&T fees, but you can offset some of the costs. For instance, if you really need that Wi-Fi extender, you can bundle your AT&T Fiber with AT&T Wireless and save enough money to cover the monthly $10 fee.

If you find a fee on your bill that doesn’t belong, the best strategy is to reach out to AT&T Fiber directly. For instance, when AT&T stopped charging fiber customers for basic equipment, an existing AT&T customer on Reddit noticed their bills still included that fee.

“They told me they only remove it if customers call in and ask,” the customer posted in the AT&T Fiber subreddit. “So if you are still seeing an equipment rental fee, call and ask them to remove it and save $10 a month.”

All internet providers have hidden fees, but some have fewer fees than AT&T Fiber. While AT&T's hidden cost roster isn't outrageous, out of our top recommended providers, AT&T Fiber has the second-highest number of extra charges (after Spectrum).

For a comparable provider with fewer hidden fees, check out other top internet service providers, like Google Fiber or T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. Both these providers have affordable service with far fewer fees than AT&T Fiber.

But even with potential hidden costs, AT&T Fiber is still a good bargain. Many of those extra fees are even entirely avoidable by choosing downgraded equipment, self-installing, and paying on time every month.

Enter your zip code in the box below and see whether AT&T Fiber or another equally affordable internet service is available at your place.